Vegas comes to London for Poker Bonanza

In the not-so-distant past serious poker players would gather in Las Vegas to be able to play their favourite game. But times have changed. Vegas now comes to London every year particularly every autumn to witness a major season of poker.

In the next few weeks, London will play host to several major poker tournaments and a number of side games. Leading poker players will be in attendance such as Phil ‘Poker Brat' Hellmuth, Daniel ‘Kid Poker' Negreanu, and Phil Ivey.

The World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) will begin September 18 at the glamorous Casino at the Empire in Leicester Square. The said event is an extension of the Vegas World Series. This is the third year for the WSOPE game and the event is quickly recognized as one of the most important poker competition outside Nevada.

So what's going to be happening? Kicking off next Friday at the glitzy Casino at the Empire in Leicester Square is the World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE), the London extension of the Vegas World Series, which takes place every summer. This will be the third year for the WSOPE, and it's an event that has quickly established itself as the most esteemed poker competition to outside Nevada. The WSOPE has four poker tournaments.

A few weeks later, in October, the London leg of the European Poker Tour (EPT) will commence at the Edgware Road's Hilton Metropole hotel. The EPT is now on its sixth season. EPT is also the closing competition for the European Poker Championships at Grosvenor Victoria casino. These feature smaller buy-in tournaments for those who do not want to spend £5,000 for the EPT entry or £10,000 for the WSOPE "Main Event" tournament.

This year the WSOPE event is made more exciting by the fact that the two of the nine finalists facing off in the championship game are Phil Ivey, an American, considered to be the best living player, and the UK's James Akenhead. The two belongs to the "November Nine" finalists who will square off for the $8.5 million prize in November 2009. The final game is delayed in order to entice more viewers and boost ratings on TV. If Akenhead wins, he would be the first Brit to win one of the biggest tournaments in twenty years. Ivey's win would only confirm his poker prowess.

Many people who aren't too confident playing for money will start playing free poker online at websites such as PokerForFree.org.